The weather may still be chilly and spring only just begun, but raccoons and squirrels are already nursing tiny progeny and owlet eggs are being warmly snuggled in nests, with hatching times starting in early April. The females in other species, like cottontail rabbits, coyotes and foxes will be giving birth soon and young beavers will be kicked out of the family lodge as parents cope with a new litter of kits.

And while it’s a season of births, it’s also a time of injury and crisis as wild baby creatures come into conflict with mankind, dogs, cats and other vagaries.

No babies have been admitted yet “but soon the floodgates will open,” says Toronto Wildlife Centre executive director Nathalie Karvonen. Last year the first orphaned baby, a squirrel, arrived March 23 at the busiest wildlife centre in Canada.

The phone calls to TWC — which handles about 30,000 a year — from people who believe they’ve “discovered’’ orphaned babies have already begun, she said. Sometimes baby creatures do fall out of nests or trees and get injured, or are found by dogs or cats, or get hit by cars, have their habitat destroyed or fall prey to some natural calamity.

But in many cases, the baby has not been abandoned — the mother may be nearby and biding her time or will be returning.

Take bunnies, for example. Actually, don’t actually take them, if you find a nest of cottontails in your backyard with no mother in view. Apparently, the female cottontail feeds her babies two or three times between dusk and dawn and the rest of the time she stays away while they remain in a small depression in the ground, covered with vegetation.

Karvonen says the mother distances herself from the nest because otherwise her presence would draw predators. And because the rabbits are so plentiful in Toronto, their nests are often found on private property and might be discovered during a springtime raking.

If you do come across a bunch of bunnies in your backyard and you’re worried they may have been abandoned, cover them up again and lay a piece of yarn across the nest, advises Karvonen. The next day, if you see the yarn’s been moved or disturbed you’ll know the bunnies’ mother has been back, taking care of business.

If raccoons have nested in your garage or possibly your attic, it would be best if you could leave them undisturbed right now, she says. If you scare off the mother, she may abandon the babies which are helpless at this stage. Apparently the longer a mother raccoon is with her babies, the more she bonds and is more likely to remove them and seek an alternate home if disturbed.

People in this situation are welcome to call TWC for a referral to a humane wildlife removal service, she says. Likewise, call TWC if you find a wild baby that may not be in danger but which you think needs help.

It’s also not a good idea to let your cat or dog go outside by themselves in springtime, especially, says Karvonen. They could prey upon wild babies or become the victims themselves of predators trying to feed their offspring.

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